Former Infinity Ward project director says MW2019 Zombies mode was planned but not approved

Former Infinity Ward project director says MW2019 Zombies mode was planned but not approved
Nico Vergara Updated on by

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If you’re wondering why it took more than four years for the first Zombies mode to be brought into the revamped Modern Warfare trilogy, it’s not for lack of trying. According to a statement from former Infinity Ward Co-Op Project Director Brian Bright, their team at Infinity Ward “had hundreds of non-fully fleshed out zombie AI in the beginnings of MW2019.” “Unfortunately, I was unable to persuade the bosses that we could have zombies fit vibe-wise in an MW game,” Bright continued, hence its absence until now.

With the MW3 Zombies mode continuing to be one of, if not the most, popular offerings in the latest series installment, one can’t help but wonder what could have been if it was conceived early on in the revamped MW series. This is because aside from Bright’s revelation of their initial “non-fully fleshed out zombie AI,” he also stated that “the mode we planned was similar to what [Treyarch] has now,” meaning an open-world undead extraction mode, alongside the launch of Warzone, was a possibility early on.

This could have made the 2019 series entry even more of a hit after receiving critical acclaim upon its release, which several fans similarly pointed out below a CharlieIntel post. Predictably enough, some players called out Infinity Ward for not approving the planned Zombies mode, with one commenter even going so far as to call the embattled CoD developer “a joke.” Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and a Zombies mode in an older CoD game may not have been as well received as it was in recent times.

Now, before you jump back into Sledgehammer Games hit undead mode, take a look at our guides on MW3 Zombies tips and tricks, MW3 Zombies perks list, and how to craft in MW3 Zombies to make your cooperative extraction jaunts easier.